ISDS Case Map
Australia
Australian businesses in China have praised a New Zealand trade deal which overcomes prohibitive red tape and any unofficial go-slow at Chinese ports that can plague Australian exporters.
In the short- and medium- terms, however, it seems unlikely that those additional rules will facilitate any significant increase in Australian exports to ASEAN.
FTAs can be downright harmful. These agreements often include clauses that deliver power to foreign corporations to launch legal action against democratically elected governments on decisions they believe harm their commercial interests.
A common set of rules on intellectual property (IP) and e-commerce and a new scope of trade for telecommunication services are among some of the expected benefits that will arise from the RCEP agreement when it is signed next year.
India’s departure from the RCEP announced yesterday in Bangkok is not only caused by India’s resistance to lower tariffs. There is a hidden agenda of non-tariff issues that could restrict future government regulation by giving more rights to global corporations.
It has been more than eight years since Australia and India began negotiations on a free trade deal, but the two countries have yet to reach a settlement that both New Delhi and Canberra feel comfortable with.
Interview with AFTINET convenor Dr Patricia Ranald about how the ISDS regime developed, the reasons why these mechanisms are so detrimental, and the impact the TPP-11 agreement could have on Australia.
Organisations representing millions of Australians wrote to Labor MPs last week asking them to implement their policies against harmful proposals including special rights for foreign investors to sue governments for millions over domestic laws.
The Morrison government hopes to pass legislation cobbling together three free-trade deals within months. Draft legislation to lock in trade pacts with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru was introduced to parliament on Wednesday.
PM Narendra Modi will take up India’s unresolved issues in the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade agreement at the leaders’ summit next month if the 16 members are unable to resolve them over the next few days.
